Jenin camp residents stymie Juliano Mer murder probe

[oberliner]

Almost two months after Israeli actor and political activist Juliano Mer-KKhamis was shot dead in Jenin, there are no leads in the investigation. Of the four law enforcement agencies investigating the case - the Palestinian police, the Israel Police, the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet security service - none seems to be working particularly hard to solve it, says Abeer Baker, the attorney for the family, who has been in touch with the district police in Ariel about the case.

Forensic tests and the autopsy were carried out in Israel, but the Palestinian security services are in charge of looking for the gun and locating eye witnesses. A Palestinian security source told Haaretz that residents of the refugee camp in Jenin where Mer-Khamis was shot refuse to cooperate with the Palestinian Authority forces investigating the murder, impeding the investigation.

A resident of the camp, who is a veteran member of one of the Palestinian Liberation Organization groups and knowledgeable on the matter, told Haaretz that the PA's fear of clashing with camp residents is preventing it from pursuing the probe as intensely as it should.

Right after Mer-Khamis' murder on April 4, the PA had reportedly arrested a number of suspects who were released shortly thereafter. Officials close to the PA in Ramallah said that the Palestinian police released a key suspect after potential eye witnesses said they had seen nothing.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/jenin-camp-residents-stymie-juliano-mer-murder-probe-1.366673